The Stalker Becomes The Stalked
by Rina Lee Mitchal
Summary: You know why I don't have a Gaia Home?Because I sleep under Ian's bed every night instead.Much better than a house.This blurb was found in one Gaian's signature. Little did she know it would change her life forever...Be careful what you put in your signat


**The Stalker Becomes the Stalked**

**By RinaLee**

**PG-13 for language, yaoi, yuri, inappropriate situations, language, alcohol, and did I mention language? Sorry, I love to curse when I write...Not that removal of the language would lower the rating... **

((There is a severe lack of Gaia Online stories on I know there are a lot of people on Gaia, so this is getting posted in my journal, too. I don't see many stories about NPC x PC relationships, so I figured, hey, why not try? It's my comeback story! Oh, and many side pairings, by the way; canon and non-canon.

JUST A FEW WARNINGS: This story might offend some. Like whoever likes that airhead Sasha. This might offend anyone who likes the pairing Ian x Sasha, or Ian x Any other NPC, for that matter, because this is a bum bum bum buuuuum! Ian x PC story!! Yes, this story uses my Gaia character, RinaLee, as a main character. I see it all the time, so nyah! I'm killing the Fanfiction Commandments in this story...I am breaking up a canon couple or two, and making several pairings of my own, some even bending...preference...see the rating, but don't worry, not much of that, so if that makes you mad, leave. The rest of you, enjoy! It gets longer with every review! Those of you reading this on Gaia; to review, comment on the chapter's entry. Oh, and everyone, make sure to read the crap at the end of the chapter! It's usually important!))

**Chapter One**

One day I decided to change my signature. I thought I would try to make something funny; something that would catch people's eyes. I didn't want to put anything too horrible or offensive, so I came up with a little joke that all the Gaians would laugh at. I had no idea that it would change the course of my life forever. This is what I came up with:

Do you know why I don't have a Gaia Home?

Because I sleep under Ian's bed at night.

Much better than a house.

The rest of the signature was irrelevant to the hundreds of Gaians that saw it. It didn't matter that I was entering the Arena in a week. It didn't matter that I was questing for my own pair of Deluxe Cat Ears. Gossip seemed to spread like wildfire in the General Discussion and other forums I frequented.

I was up very late one night, and I went into the Word Game forum, the one in the General Discussion, and was playing "What can you learn about the Gaian above you from their signature?" Nobody noticed the quest, and only one Gaian noticed the Arena advertisement. Everyone just said, "She sleeps under Ian's bed. 0o" One person was a bit of an n00b and said, "She sleeps under Ian." I could have gotten really mad; that's pretty sick, and not what it said at all. I let it go; n00bs will be n00bs. I went into the Gaia Community Discussion; I had never been there before, and I was looking to escape the sick-minded n00bs. I joined the Ian Bar and Grill; basically a fanclub for Ian. I figured; I have the signature to prove I'm a fan, why not join?

The next few days passed without much incident. I couldn't get out to town on Sunday afternoon, so nothing happened that day. Monday, Tuesday...nothing happened. I was getting ready with my cosplay of Saria from Ocarina of Time, so I could enter the Arena. Someone was kind enough to donate 600g to my mini-quest for a Black Leather Belt! One of my good friends, Cold Foreplay, had donated the Elven Ears I needed. Thanks to the generosity of others, I finally had it done, and the 1000g for the entrance fee. I was so excited!

Well, I wasn't lying when I said I didn't have a house. I'd been sleeping in whatever Guild I talked the most in that day at the time, or in whatever forum I was in when I passed out. I especially liked to go to the Ian Bar and Grill; they had great drinks, and I could keep drinking far into the night, and get so intoxicated that I'd black out. I'd wake up the next morning with other Ian fans staring at me, new artwork or stories in their hands, trying to get past me to discuss their new homage's to the owner of the Barton Boutique.

You see, Ian has many fangirls. That's why I thought it would be funny to add the house comment to my signature. Others thought it was funny, too. A few people were freaked out or thought it was sick, but it was the minority. Actually, the majority thought it was funny.

Not everyone thought it was funny though. That became very apparent to me one Friday night.

For the third night that week, I was camped out at Ian's Bar and Grill. I was chatting with some random girl; it was three AM, and I was surprised that anyone was here. She had an art shop to tend to that day, so she left shortly after three-thirty. She was pretty drunk; it's really fun to watch Gaians try to draw when they're plastered. The picture she turned out was still really good. I envied her, and in fact, most of the artists in Gaia. I wished I could draw any of the shopkeepers and celebrities of Gaia. I lacked the skills and the supplies; and the courage. I didn't know what I'd do if I showed my art and people laughed. I had done art in the past, but people had underpaid me, and it didn't seem worth it. 200g and an Island Girl Wig is hardly good forfeit for a full-colored full-body shot. I limited myself to gift art, but planned on starting up an Art Shop over in the Minishop Forum eventually, if only for the gold. Rum doesn't buy itself. If I wasn't at the Ian Bar and Grill, I had to buy my drinks, and it was adding up. I wouldn't admit I had a problem. At least I only drank at night.

The bar had become very quiet. After all, it was now, what? Fifteen to four. AM. I opened my bag to dig out some paper. I was so wasted; I was surprised I could see the bag. I pulled out a piece of paper and a short stub of a pencil. Stumbling to a nearby table, I began to doodle. I drew a little chibi Ian sleeping in a bed, with a little chibi me hiding under the bed, grinning like a maniac. I was surprised about the quality of the picture; I actually liked what I had drawn for once. Maybe it was all the rum, but it's possible the picture was actually good. I don't know. I haven't been able to find the picture since then.

I was pondering using the newly-drawn picture as a banner for my shop, when the doors to the bar crashed open. A shadowy figure stood in the dim grey of the doorway. The barkeep was jolted awake; I hadn't noticed she was asleep. Go figure. Anyway, the barkeep shrieked loudly, and the figure at the door cringed, the stood upright again. He; it was obviously a he, stomped into the room, cane in hand. Both the barkeep and I instantly recognized him when he came into the light.

"WHERE'S RINA LEE?!" Ian shouted. Oh, I was sober now, "Oh. Sh—" my eyes wide, my heart racing. _Oh please let there be bread in the other room or something...! _"Uh, yeah, right here," I said, hoping to remain sounding unafraid. Ian came up to my table and sat down. _Crap. I am so screwed. He saw my..._ "I saw your signature, Rina Lee." _Yep. He saw the signature. _He looked down at the table, noticing the doodle. _Oh, Ian's going to kill me..._ "Did you draw this?" "...yes..." I said, embarrassed. "It good. Okay, back to the matter of your signature. Why did you put that on it?" He was so calm; it was certainly not like him. We all know Ian to be a bit...spastic. Even Rufus agrees. We heard him say it at the trial.

"Ever since you put that in your signature, your post number has been increasing. That means many people have seen it." "It just was more fun to post with something funny in my signature..." "So, why did you do it? I know that there are many reasons why you could have, the most simple being that you wanted attention, and...You aren't...sleeping under my...bed...every...night, are you?" His voice was regaining its typical spastic quality, "Because Sasha would KILL me if she knew someone was..." I cut him off, "No, I'm not hiding under your bed every night. I just thought it would be funny!" I knew my speech was slurring; I had had far too much to drink tonight. "Oh, you find it FUNNY to make jokes at someone's expense?!" His voice was very spastic now. I couldn't help but find him very attractive right then. I always had, actually. I thought back to the day I had first met him.

It had been my earliest visit to Barton Town. Ian was the first shopkeeper almost anyone met, until the trial. We all had known he was innocent...Anyway, we all know that Ian was shot in the shoulder after being found innocent of the crime of arson. The sniper had never been caught. One day I would find that sniper...After the incident, Ian had been in the hospital for months, and when he was released, he had to walk with a cane. Nobody knew if he would have to keep the walking stick forever...No new leads had appeared in the case of who committed the crime Ian was charged of. Ian had started going out with Sasha, the airhead shopkeeper from the beach. All the while Ian had been recovering; his talking cat Rufus had been minding the Boutique. Newcomers to the town never had known Ian; what a loss for the community...

I must have made an odd face while reminiscing, because just then Ian stopped talking and said, "What!? Weren't you even listening?! You can't just say whatever you want about me in you signature! I'm a person, too!! And another thing...!" I leaned over the table and just looked at him. After a few moments he exasperatedly sighed, "What?!" "You're...you're really hot Ian. And Sasha's an airhead."

Now, there is such a thing as 'too much rum', though I try not to entertain the thought too often. It tends to kill the buzz. That night, there had apparently been 'too much rum' drank, because Ian slapped me across the face. "How DARE you say that about Sasha?!?!?!?!?!?! She is NOT an airhead!!!! And how DARE you say something like that to a man in love with someone!??!?! I don't care HOW much you've had to drink tonight; that was UNACCEPTABLE!!!!"

I just sat there, stunned. I think I was just too drunk to understand that he had slapped me. Ian looked crazy-eyed and pissed, and I suddenly felt really bad for calling Sasha an airhead. Even though she is. And always will be. But he really loved her, and I had just had a major slip of judgment very unlike me, even when completely inebriated.

Surprisingly, he looked upset about what he had done as well. His eyes softened, and he hung his head, "I'm...I'm sorry for that. You...you know how it...is...you get...really...defensive, about people you...care about...I'm really sorry...I shouldn't've slapped you. That was bad."

"I'm sorry for saying that about Sasha. Friends?" Ian just looked at me. I couldn't read his face. I had no clue what he was feeling. That was very unlike me. His face looked like a mix of shock, another dose of shock, and...Admiration? Was that it? "I...I'm sorry. No. I can't. I'm sorry. I have to go. Sasha and I are going to the beach again today." He stood up and, hardly leaning on the thin cane, quickly and nervously walked out the door.

The barkeep stared at me. Now it was my turn for an un-understanding, "What?" She looked at me, shocked, "You didn't see it in his face?" "What?! See what in his face?!" The barkeep shook her head and told me, "You can't stay here tonight, and I don't recommend coming in later today, either. The other girls'll go insane if they find out Ian touched you, even if it was by slapping you. And they will find out, I promise, though it won't be from me. I don't want you to get mobbed." "Advice taken. See you some other time."

I walked through town, stopping momentarily at the window to the Barton Boutique. I looked in the window to see Rufus dealing with a couple of young women, outraged with the price of a pair of socks, which were only 500 gold. "N00bs...Shouldn't've blown your money on the School Girl Set...which, by the way, looks horrible on you. You should've got a haircut. " I murmured, and headed to the Guilds building. I let myself into The Harvest Moon Guild and looked up my 'Harvest Moon: For Gay' post. "No new replies..." I let my head hit the door. My eyes slipped shut, and that's how they found me in the morning; passed out on the door of my own post, with a fading handprint on my face.

((So, Chapter One...what did you think? This is my first Gaia story, so I hope it goes over well. I won't keep writing unless I get reviews! There will be other pairings in this story, just so you know. My buddy Cold Foreplay is vital to the plot later on, as are a few other Gaians, yet to be introduced in the story. I won't be writing exclusively about Ian, though that would be fun. The part about the signature? Yeah, that's true! "Do you know why I don't have a Gaia Home? Because I sleep under Ian's bed at night. Much better than a house." is actually in my Gaia signature right now! It's the tagline for this story...or, part of it. So is the part about being Saria in the Avatar Arena You know who to vote for now! RinaLee FTW!! And the quest for the Deluxe Cat Ears!! Also, if you are on Gaia, send me a PM! Or, add me! Or, do both! That's RinaLee, all one word!

Tell me what you think of the story, and if you want to be in it, because I need Gaians for the story! Tell me where you hang out on the site guilds, forums, games..., and you'll probably end up in the story! Because I'm that pressed for PCs. Well, until next time!))

-Rina Lee Out!!


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